1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to information handling systems and in particular to a system and a method for copying directory structures of information handling systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes, thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications.
Information handling systems can operate in a distributed environment and can include a collection of information handling systems in communication with each other including servers, storage devices, desktops and laptops all in communication via local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs) or other networks such as the internet.
Information handling systems can include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. In order to process and manage the information, a file system may be included in the information handling system. A file system may organize information in the form of files into an easily readable hierarchy to facilitate location and retrieval of the files.
To organize the files, a directory may be created in a file system to group the files associated with a specific application or use. The directory is a hierarchical arrangement of information pertaining to users and systems in an organization. A file may include data specific to the application or use. The directory hierarchy can include a number of levels, with each directory typically being identified by a name. A directory at a lower level is often referred to as a sub-directory and a directory at an immediate higher level as a parent directory. The top level may be referred to as a root level, with files/directories starting from the root. Files can be placed at any level of the hierarchy.
During the operation of the information handling system, it may be necessary to copy or clone part or all of a file system including all or part of a directory from one information handling system or server to another information handling system or server. Cloning can include creating copies of all or part of the stored data.
Unfortunately, the current methods of copying directories and file systems are slow and inefficient. The current methods of copying file systems rely on recursive copy operations for each file component and contents. This causes multiple operations over the network between client and server and server and client in order to complete the copying of individual files.